Publications

December 2018 (Revised December 2020)
Course Overview Note

Introduction to the RC Strategy Course

This note offers an overview of the Strategy course offered in HBS’s Required Curriculum. The RC Strategy course aims to help students become effective strategists. The note introduces the six modules of the course: What is Strategy, Market Attractiveness, Competitive... View Details

Keywords: Market Attractiveness; Strategic Interactions; Strategy; Corporate Strategy

February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
Background Note

Profitability Drivers in Professional Service Firms

This case presents a simple model of the drivers of profitability in a professional service partnership and conducts an empirical exploration of the determinants of profitability among AmLaw 100 firms over the period 1994 to 1999. View Details

Keywords: Profitability; Model; Profit; Partners and Partnerships; Law; Service Industry

January 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Background Note

Managing Client Conflicts

This case describes the two types of client conflict--conflict of duty and conflict of service--that professionals manage. It delineates how the management of these conflicts affects the scale and scope of service that professionals provide. View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Service Industry

December 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Sherif Mityas at A.T. Kearney (A): Negotiating a Client Service Predicament

Sherif Mityas, recently promoted as project manager at A.T. Kearney, faced a client service challenge in his very first project experience. Mityas had been working closely for six weeks with the management team of the U.S. subsidiary of a Japan-headquartered consumer... View Details

Keywords: Management; Conflict of Interests; Business Subsidiaries; Trust; Consumer Products Industry; Japan; United States

October 2003 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Analyst Conflicts (B): Aftermath of the Settlement

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

June 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Background Note

The Essence of Professionalism: Managing Conflict of Interest

This case argues that central to being a professional is the pledge to manage conflicts of interest such that client interest is placed foremost. View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests

April 2003 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Abby Joseph Cohen: A Career Retrospective

This case provides a career retrospective as of 2003 on Goldman Sachs strategist Abby Joseph Cohen. It reviews Cohen's career path and progress through key decision points. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Personal Development and Career

December 2002 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (B): A Global Merger

The negotiations for the merger between Cap Gemini and Ernst & Young conclude, resolving issues of how to bring together Ernst & Young consulting partnerships from all over the world into the publicly held Cap Gemini. Reactions to the merger were optimistic within Cap... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Negotiation; Multinational Firms and Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

December 2002 (Revised February 2005)
Case

McKinsey and Company: An Institution at a Crossroads

This case tracks McKinsey's evolution from its origin in 1926 to 2002, emphasizing the institutional heritage of the firm. It closes with a description of the challenges facing the firm's leadership in 2002. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth Management; Organizational Culture; Service Industry

July 2001 (Revised August 2004)
Case

AdNet (D)

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

November 1998
Supplement

Organizational Change at Andersen Consulting - EMEAI

July 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Background Note

Down General Management Memory Lane

Offered at the end of a twenty-five session course on general management, this note reviews the course and reflects on major parts of learning. View Details

Keywords: Management

Find at Harvard

May 1997 (Revised October 2005)
Supplement

Ecolab, Inc. (H): Al Schuman's Visit to a Regional Office

Supplements the (A) case. In the weeks following the employee defections, Al Schuman toured Ecolab's offices extensively. The case excerpts from one of the speeches he made during his tour. May be used in place of the video. View Details

Keywords: Employees

Web

Transitions - Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning

Garvin Professor Garvin explains three techniques that signal “we are done and it's time to move on.” Transcript Using Summaries To Transition David Garvin Professor Garvin uses "running summaries" to wrap up individual segments within a discussion. Transcript Segue... View Details

2017
Working Paper

Cost of Experimentation and the Evolution of Venture Capital

By: Michael Ewens, Ramana Nanda and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

We study how technological shocks to the cost of starting new businesses have led the venture capital model to adapt in fundamental ways over the prior decade. We both document and provide a framework to understand the changes in the investment strategy of VCs in... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Investing; Abandonment Option; Technological Innovation; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Investment

SSRN

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Summer 2020
Article

Venture Capital's Role in Financing Innovation: What We Know and How Much We Still Need to Learn

By: Josh Lerner and Ramana Nanda

Venture capital is associated with some of the most high-growth and influential firms in the world. Academics and practitioners have effectively articulated the strengths of the venture model. At the same time, venture capital financing also has real limitations in its... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Financing; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Technological Innovation